Most workers who have direct employment arrangements in Connecticut benefit from certain protections. Their employers have to pay them at least minimum wage. If they lose their jobs unexpectedly, they may qualify for unemployment benefits.
If they get hurt on the job, they may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Generally speaking, most businesses have the legal obligation to carry workers’ compensation coverage that protects their employees. That coverage also indemnifies the business against a direct lawsuit if a worker gets hurt on the job. Employees can request workers’ compensation benefits after a workplace incident leaves them injured or a doctor diagnoses them with a job-acquired medical condition.
Can personal fault affect eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits?
Fault is typically not a major consideration
The good news for injured employees is that workers’ compensation benefits do not require proof of fault. Employees do not need to show that the company caused their injuries. They also don’t have to worry about the company using proof that they caused an incident to deny them benefits.
With rare exceptions, fault does not factor into the workers’ compensation claims process. The program provides no-fault coverage for employees coping with medical issues related to their employment. Even if a worker makes a mistake, such as running on the factory floor or dropping a tool on their own foot, they are still likely eligible for benefits.
Workers’ compensation can help them cover health care costs and can replace their wages if they require a leave of absence. Fault doesn’t usually affect benefit eligibility or the amount of benefits received.
Of course, there are a few notable exceptions to those rules. If a company can reasonably establish that a worker hurt themselves on purpose to become eligible for benefits, that could impact the claims process. If the injured worker fails a drug test after an incident and the company can show that likely caused their injuries, then that could also affect their eligibility for benefits. In the vast majority of workplace injury scenarios, fault is not a factor in the claims process.
Regardless of why a worker got hurt, they still generally have the same basic right to benefits. Learning about how workers’ compensation operates can help employees understand when they may be eligible for compensations. Injured workers sometimes need support filing a claim or appealing unfavorable decisions, and that’s okay.